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Chapter I, 1911 



DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 
BUREAU OF EDUCATION 



A BRIEF SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS 
DURING THE DECADE 1900 TO 1910 



BY 



lCT* 






FLETCHER B^DRESSLAR /^ 

it 

Chief of the Editorial Division, Bureau of Education 
(Chief of the Division of School Hygiene and Sanitation since October 19, 1911) 



[Reprint from the Report of the Commissioner of Education for the year ended June 30, 1911] 



21365°— 12 



WASHINGTON : GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1912 



■ 



-'-• 






i 



CHAPTER I. 

A BRIEF SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS DURING 
THE DECADE 1900 TO 1910. 

By Fletcher B. Dresslar, 

Chief of the Editorial Division, Bureau of Education {Chief of the Division of School Sanitation and Hygiene 

since October 19, 1911). 



INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT. 

The purpose of this survey is to set forth some of the more salient 
features of educational development in the United States during the 
first decade of the new century. 

No one who has watched this growth will believe that it is possible 
to express it in any sort of completeness by statistical methods alone ; 
but some of the more general and objective features can be handled 
in this manner, and by means of comparisons, general movements 
forward or backward may be seen. School statistics generally avail- 
able, however, are faulty, and no amount of effort can correct them 
so long as the various States ask for returns on different and varying 
bases. Hence all general conclusions reached as a result of the study 
of the educational statistics of the country must be taken with due 
allowance unless supported by evidence from other sources. It may 
not be out of place at this point to say that this office is working with 
all diligence to get correct and comparable returns from all States and 
that a plan presented looking toward this end has been indorsed by 
the Department of Superintendence of the National Educational 
Association at the Mobile meeting in 1911. Within the coming 
decade it is expected that more reliable returns will be available and 
that they will be ready for publication in the year to which they 
relate. At any rate, this bureau is determined to make the attempt. 

RELATIVE DECREASE IN SCHOOL POPULATION. 

In 1900 the total population in the States was 75,602,515. In 1910 
it had reached 91,972,266, or an increase of more than 21 per cent 
over that of 1900. But it is an interesting and quite significant fact 
that that part of our population represented by children between the 
ages of 5 and 18, or, in other words, the common-school population, 
had increased within the same 10 years less than 15 per cent. In the 
previous decade (that is, from 1890 to 1900) there was an increase of 
13144°— ed 1911— vol 1 1 



2 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

the school population of more than 17 per cent, and from 1880 to 
IS 90 the increase was more than 23 per cent. During these three 
decades, then, while the population as a whole has been increasing at 
a steady rate, the rate of increase in the school population has appar- 
ently dropped from more than 23 per cent to less than 15 per cent. 
These figures include the total school population, both white and 
black, but since the percentage of white children from 5 to 18 years 
of age has kept pace with that of colored children of the same ages 
for the same period, it is safe to assert that the above figures approx- 
imate the truth with reference to the steadily decreasing percentage 
of white children dependent on a given number of adults for educa- 
tional support. 

Mr. North, former Director of the Census, has said: 

The uninterrupted, increase shown in the proportion of white adults of self-supporting 
age to white children proves exceedingly suggestive. At the First Census (1790) 780 
adults contributed to the maintenance and rearing of 1,000 children in the United 
States, but in 1900 the relationship of adults to children had changed so greatly that 
the ratio became 1,580 adults to each 1,000 children. (A Century of Population. 
Growth, p. 104.) 

While the above conclusions were made on the basis of the total 
number of white children from 1 to 1 6 years of age and of white adults 
over 20 years of age through a whole century, they certainly tend to 
corroborate the general conclusion mentioned, that, relatively speak- 
ing, the school population (5 to 18) is decreasing in a rather remarkable 
manner. 

Aside from the general civic problems growing out of such a situa- 
tion, it will be seen at once that many misconceptions concerning 
the expenditure per pupil for educational purposes could easily arise. 

For example, it would now cost New England very little more per 
adult to give each of her children $20 worth of educational advan- 
tages than it would cost the South, per adult, all other conditions 
equal, to give her children $10 worth of schooling. While the middle, 
northern, and western divisions of States do not as a whole show 
either of these extremes to so striking a degree, there is, nevertheless, 
a good deal of variation. The real test, then, of the willingness of 
any State or section to do its duty in the educational support of its 
children may be measured more accurately by the cost per capita of 
adult population than by the expenditure per capita of the school 
population. 

During the decade under consideration the percentage of the school 
population (5 to 18 years of age) enrolled in the public schools shows 
a slight decrease as compared with that of the previous decade. 
Whether this decrease is real or whether the statistics representing 
the last year of this decade are not exactly comparable with those 
of the first year of the decade it is impossible to say. But there seems 
to be some probability that the country as a whole has reached approx- 



SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, 1900-1910.* 3 

imately a sort of tableland in the heretofore up-grade movement 
in the percentage of enrollment of the public-school population. 
However, this general statement must be used with caution. In 
several of the Southern States, notably Mississippi, Louisiana, 
Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Texas, 
advances have been made ; while some of the Western States also show 
an increase. 

AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE. 

It seems, however, that if the percentage of enrollment has not 
increased, or has even decreased, a better showing has been made in 
the average daily attendance. In 1900, the average daily attendance 
in the public schools was 10,632,772, which was 68.6 per cent of the 
enrollment; in 1909, the average daily attendance reached 12,684,837, 
being 72.5 per cent of the number enrolled. These figures, taken 
with the fact that they correspond rather closely to the progress of 
those representing the attendance for the several intervening years, 
seem to warrant the general conclusion that the children have attended 
the public schools more regularly during the past decade than in any 
previous one in our educational history. But there is still great 
room for improvement. There were in 1909, as shown by the sta- 
tistical tables, 24,239,820 children 5 to 18 years of age; but only 
12,684,837 were in actual attendance. That is to say, nearly one- 
half of the school population of 1909 was out of the public school each 
day during the year. This statement does not take into account the 
fact that most children have finished the elementary work several 
years earlier, and that many of them did not enter until 6 years of 
age, or even later. It is based on statistics gathered by this bureau 
to designate the school population, i. e., the number of children that 
might be in attendance at some school. By summarizing the two 
sets of figures involved, it is shown that, while the facts regarding the 
attendance are not what could be wished, there has been a slight, but 
steady increase in the percentage of average daily attendance during 
the decade. 

INCREASE IN THE LENGTH OF SCHOOL TERM. 

A still more significant fact, however, comes to light when the sta- 
tistics relating to the length of the school term are examined. Taking 
the country as a whole, the length of the school term has increased 
from 144.3 days in 1900 to 155.3 days in 1909. The highest average 
in the history of the American school system was reached, therefore, 
in 1909, and all evidence at hand points to the continued increase of 
this average. This means that over one-half of a school month has 
been added to the average length of the school term, and in this 
particular alone educational effectiveness has been increased during 
the decade about 8 per cent. 



4 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

AVERAGE NUMBER OF DAYS ATTENDED. 

The average number of days attended by each pupil enrolled has 
increased in an unbroken and steady fashion from 99 days in 1900 to 
112.6 days in 1909. While averages of this sort are more or less 
unconvincing and even at times misleading, in this particular they 
seem to be significant. On the basis of these figures, and on corrobora- 
tive evidence, it can be asserted that during the past decade there 
has been a healthy growth in regularity of attendance, and that no 
previous year in the history of the common schools shows such a high 
mark in this regard as the year 1910. The significance of this state- 
ment will be understood most readily by teachers, and will, it is hoped, 
encourage some of them to renewed efforts to keep the children in 
school. Regular attendance means consistent and regular growth. 
A few irregulars seriously break the continuity of the whole work of 
the school. Just what elements have been instrumental in raising 
this average it is impossible to specify. Doubtless, medical inspec- 
tion, compulsory-attendance laws, closer supervision, better adapta- 
tion of subject matter to the needs of the children, better housing, 
and many other factors have combined to bring about this result. 

NUMBER OF PUBLIC-SCHOOL TEACHERS. 

In 1900 the number of public-school teachers reached the total of 
423,062, with approximately 30 men' in each hundred teachers. In 
1909 there were 506,040 teachers in public-school service, but the 
number of men had dropped to approximately 21 to the hundred. 

This relative elimination of men teachers from the public schools 
has been going on steadily and rapidly since 1880. Much has been 
written about this part of recent educational history, and lamentation 
because of the possible dangers involved has been often heard. There 
is no doubt that it is unwise to intrust so important a matter as the 
teaching of boys and girls so largely to women; but the facts are 
known and have been for many years,- and yet the hoped-for change 
does not come. 

WAGES OF TEACHERS. 

The average monthly wages of teachers can not be stated with 
accuracy because of the fact that the statistics gathered during the 
decade on this particular item are incomplete. But it can be stated 
with some assurance that the monthly salaries have increased for 
men in the neighborhood of 35 per cent,, and for women about 25 per 
cent. The average monthly salary for men teachers was given in 
1900 as $46.53; in 1909 it had increased to $63.39. The increase in 
wages for women teachers for the same period was from $38.93 per 
month to $50.08. It must not be forgotten, however, that while the 



SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, 1900-1910. 5 

monthly salary has increased, the average length of the school term 
has also increased, and therefore the annual salary has increased to a 
much greater degree than the monthly salary alone would indicate. 
Doubtless one reason why the average salary of men has increased 
more rapidly than that of women lies in the fact that relatively a 
much greater number of the men have been engaged in supervisory 
work, and in this capacity command larger salaries. 

NUMBER OF SCHOOLHOUSES. 

Taking the decade as a whole the number of houses used for public- 
school purposes has increased from 248,279 in 1900 to 257,851 in 1909. 
It is interesting to note that during the last two or three years of this 
period there has been no appreciable increase. This is probably due 
to the movement for consolidation in country districts, to the recent 
period of financial depression, and to the continued increase in the 
urban population where larger buildings are being constructed. 

VALUE OF SCHOOL PROPERTY. 

The total value of all public-school property has increased from 
$550,531,217 in 1900 to the enormous sum of $967,775,587 in 1909. 
While it is impossible to specify in detail what particular items have 
been relatively most influential in this wonderful increase in our 
public-school equipment, it seems safe to say that by far the most 
important one is that of better and larger school buildings. This has 
been preeminently a period of advance in the style and quality of our 
school architecture. Not only are larger buildings built, but many of 
them are constructed of permanent materials and are equipped with 
modern conveniences, better furniture, more extensive libraries, and 
various new departments for the teaching of the sciences and their 
applications in the daily affairs of life. No one who is conversant 
with the educational history of the world will fail to see evidences of a 
movement which can not be matched from the records of the past. 
Greece and Rome in the days of their greatest advances knew naught 
of school buildings as they exist to-day. Far more money is invested 
in public-school property than was required to maintain all the 
machinery of our Federal Government in 1910. 

But let us not boast of good works and forget those useless expenses 
of our so-called enlightened civilization. We spend each year for 
purposes which all reason and scientific investigation condemn as 
harmful enough money to duplicate all our school buildings and have 
millions of dollars left for providing worthy playgrounds for our 
children. 



6 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

SOURCES OF PUBLIC-SCHOOL REVENUE. 

Turning now to the sources whence the public schools derive their 
revenue, it will be seen by consulting the figures for the decade that 
the following statements represent approximately the facts : 

The income from permanent funds and rents has increased from 
$9,152,274 in 1900 to $13,746,826 in 1909, though it appears from the 
figures for the years 1906-7 and 1907-8 that a much larger revenue 
was derived from these sources than at any period in our history. 
These figures as they stand are evidently for some reason not com- 
parable with those for the other years of the decade, for there seem 
to be no adequate causes for such variations. 

During the years under consideration the income from State taxes 
has grown steadily from $37,281,256 in 1900 to $63,247,354 in 1909. 
The increase has been regular and consistent. This is evidence of 
stable laws in this regard and of the increasing willingness of the 
States to meet their just obligations in matters of public education. 
But the most encouraging sign in the matter of school revenues is the 
striking growth in the amount of public-school funds derived from 
local taxation. In 1900 the total receipts from this source amounted 
to $149,486,845; but in 1909 the total had reached the sum of 
$288,642,500, an increase of over 90 per cent. This is the most sig- 
nificant fact in the financial statistics for the period. It means that 
education is largely and directly in the hands of the people and that 
they are meeting the financial demands loyally. Those States which 
still persist in preventing the people from exercising the right to local 
taxation for school purposes are surely out of line with the democratic 
faith so strikingly shown by these figures. Whatever qualms may 
arise at times on account of civic inefficiency in other lines of endeavor, 
it is plain that the American people believe in the education of their 
children and are willing to pay for it directly, out of their own pockets. 
It ought to be noted in this connection, too, that there is a growing 
tendency in the States to enact laws " requiring more careful auditing 
of accounts and a greater publicity of the local financial affairs of the 
public schools." (Details regarding this point can be found in Bul- 
letin No. 7, 1908, prepared for this bureau by Prof. E. C. Elliott.) 

The total income from all sources for the common schools has 
increased from $219,765,989 in 1900 to $403,647,289 in 1909. This 
is truly a remarkable showing. During this time the population has 
increased only about 20 per cent and the school population in the 
neighborhood of 15 per cent, while the total income for common 
schools has increased more than 83 per cent. As indicated above, 
the large item in this increase is the income from local taxation. 
This fact adds great significance to these figures ; for not only does it 
emphasize, as already indicated, the willingness of the people to sup- 
port their common schools in an immediate and direct wa} T , but it 



SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, 1900-1910. 7 

should furnish a striking object lesson to those States which are yet 
afraid, apparently, to trust the people with power to tax themselves 
for the adequate support of their common schools. 

COST OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS. 

The expense account of our public schools shows an increase from 
$214,964,618 in 1900 to $401,397,747 in 1909, or about 86 per cent. 
But since, as was shown earlier in this chapter, the population as a 
whole is growing more rapidly than the school population, it has cost 
relatively a smaller increase per capita of the total population to 
meet this increasing expenditure. It cost $2.84 per capita of popu- 
lation to meet the school expenditures in 1900 and $4.45 in 1909, or 
an increase of only about 56 per cent, to meet an increase in total 
expenditure of 86 per cent. We have a right, therefore, to expect 
better educational care of our children at a relatively slower increase 
in cost per capita of population. The number of children of school 
age per 1,000 of the population is rapidly and steadily declining and 
the increasing cost per capita of population for their schooling should 
result in better educational advantages for each child than in any 
previous decade. The total expenditure per pupil for common- 
school purposes in 1900 was $20.21. In 1909 it had increased to 
$31.65, or at the rate of 56 per cent. This increased cost per pupil has 
resulted largely from the relatively larger expenditures made for 
buildings, sites, furniture, libraries, and general school equipment. 
There has been a steady falling off in the percentage of the total 
common-school income devoted to salaries for the teachers. In 1900 
64 per cent of the total expenditure was devoted to salaries; in 1909 
this had decreased to 59.2 per cent, and it declined steadily through 
the intervening years. While it is to be hoped that in the next 
decade this upward trend in better equipment will be continued, good 
buildings and good equipment generally can not take the place of 
better teachers. 

PROGRESS IN KINDERGARTENS. 

In 1900 there were approximately 250 cities of a population of 
4,000 or over in which public kindergartens were maintained in 
direct connection with the city systems of schools. There were 
employed in these cities 3,326 kindergarten teachers, and the total 
enrollment of kindergarten pupils was 131,657. In 1909, the latest 
date for which statistics are available, there were about 400 cities 
with a population of 4,000 or over which maintained kindergartens. 
For this work 5,887 teachers were employed, and 185,471 children 
were enrolled. By a study of the details upon which these figures 
are based, it appears that many of the smaller cities which did not 
include kindergarten work in 1900 have, during the decade, made 



8 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

some provision for it, and that many larger cities have extended the 
work. Comparatively speaking, there are few cities in the South 
that include the kindergarten as a part of their school systems, but 
there has been a decided growth in this direction. The States of 
the North are the most progressive in this regard. In Michigan, for 
example, there are 35 cities with public kindergartens. Naturally, 
the cosmopolitan cities show the greatest increase. 

It has been said that while the philosophy upon which the kinder- 
garten was founded is German, the development of this form of 
school work has come to be peculiarly American. To this may be 
added the fact that the American kindergartner is rarely able to 
understand the more or less mystic philosophy of Froebel, and has 
therefore shaped her work to suit the practical life of the American 
people. It is to be hoped that this tendency will not carry too far 
and rob the work of that splendid element of idealism which should 
be the heart and soul of all kindergarten training. To meet more 
successfully the demands implied in the name, the work must not be 
allowed to degenerate into another form of indoor teacher-directed 
activity. 

CITY SCHOOL ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION. 

Progress in city school organization and administration for the 
decade is expressed in many lines of development. The regular 
school work has been enlarged so as to include more manual and 
vocational training for the boys, and larger opportunities for domestic 
science for the girls. Commercial courses and courses in stenog- 
raphy and typewriting have multiplied in the high schools, and 
increased emphasis has been put upon the application of school work 
in its relation to the daily life of the citizen. Decided progress has 
been made in school buildings, and especially in the demand for 
larger playgrounds, social recreation centers, school baths, medical 
inspection, care of defectives, and better sanitation in general. 
Classes have been organized for exceptional children, and continua- 
tion and evening schools increased in number. 

The city school boards are composed of fewer members, and their 
work has been outlined under fewer committees. Instead of ap- 
pointing or electing members of city boards from wards, they are 
now more frequently appointed or elected as representatives of the 
city at large. This change deserves the highest commendation both 
as a means of ridding the schools of the baneful influence of ward 
politics and as a unifying agency in school supervision. 

PROGRESS IN HIGH SCHOOLS. 

The development of public high schools during this period consti- 
tutes one of the remarkable features of educational progress in the 
first years of the new century. This development expresses itself 



=T 



SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, 1900-1910. 



9 



not only in numbers, but in the quality and quantity of the work 
done. The high schools are more effectively reaching all classes and 
adapting their work to meet the needs of the masses in a very sig- 
nificant and vital fashion. Meanwhile the courses offered to meet 
college requirements have not been seriously disturbed, and at the 
same time a more vital affiliation between the colleges and high 
schools has been fostered. 

In 1900 there were approximately 6,005 public high schools in the 
United States. In 1910 there were 10,213, or an increase of a little 
over 70 per cent in the 10 years. The number of teachers employed 
in public secondary schools in 1900 was 20,372. In 1910 there were 
41,667 teachers in public high schools, or an increase of more than 
100 per cent in the decade. The number of pupils attending public 
high schools in 1900 was approximately 519,251, but by 1910 the 
number had increased to 915,061, or more than 76 per cent. When 
we institute a comparison between the public and private high schools 
in these regards we find that the number of private secondary schools 
has decreased during the decade and that the number of teachers 
has increased only about 10 per cent. The number of students in 
private high schools has increased only about 7 per cent. 

Within the 10 years the ratio between the numbers of boys and 
girls in public high schools has changed very little, but there has been 
a slight increase in the percentage of boys. In 1900 of all the stu- 
dents in public secondary schools, approximately 41 per cent were 
boys and 59 per cent were girls; in 1910 in every 100 students 43 
were boys. The proportion of high school students preparing for 
college has apparently decreased in the decade from about 10.8 to 
approximately 5.5 per cent. This does^not mean that fewer stu- 
dents enter college from high schools, but that there has been a 
great increase in the number of students who are making the high 
schools their finishing schools. The percentage of graduates has 
changed very little for 20 years. The graduates are approximately 
12 per centof the enrollment each year, and about a third of these 
are prepared for college. The emphasis upon the various subjects 
of study is indicated by the following table: 

Number of students, in each 1,000 enrolled in public high schools, studying the various 

subjects offered. 



Subjects. 



Latin 

Greek 

French 

German 

Algebra , 

Geometry 

Trigonometry 

Astronomy 

Physics 

Chemistry 

Physical geography 



1900 


1910 


499 


495 


36 


13 


107 


117 


160 


236 


557 


569 


273 


308 


25 


22 


29 


9 


182 


148 


79 


71 


224 


191 



Subjects. 



Geology 

Physiology 

Zoology 

Agriculture 

Domestic economy . 

Psychology 

Rhetoric 

English literature. . 

General history 

Civil government. . 



1900 



39 
263 



30 
397 
439 
384 
206 



1910 



14 

158 

78 

163 

41 

13 

566 

570 

556 

160 



10 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

By comparing these two columns one can see that Latin is holding 
its ground; Greek is disappearing; French and German are gain- 
ing — German more than French; algebra occupies a large share of 
the time and is steady; geometry is gaining; trigonometry is rarely 
taken, but has not changed; all the older sciences, rather strangely, 
are relatively falling off; English and history have gained materially. 
The subjects of zoology, botany, agriculture, stenography and type- 
writing, and domestic economy have appeared in the list of studies 
in recent years, but no comparisons for the decade are possible. 

GROWTH OF NORMAL SCHOOLS. 

There has been marked progress in the work of the public normal 
schools within the decade. In 1900 appropriation of public funds 
to the amount of $2,769,003 was made for the support of normal 
schools. In 1910 the appropriations for this purpose amounted to 
$6,630,357. Meanwhile, during the last three years of this decade, 
more money had been spent for buildings than during the whole 
period from 1890 to 1900. In the year 1900 there were 1,068 men 
and 1,847 women employed as normal-school teachers in the various 
States. In 1910 there were 1,692 men and 3,122 women so employed. 
While it is impossible to exhibit the facts in statistical form, it is 
true that the teaching force of public normal schools has largely 
increased in efficiency. Specialists who have been trained in uni- 
versities and colleges have taken the places of those who had gone 
little or no further than they were expected to take their students. 
Laboratories for the study of the sciences have been multiplied and 
a higher grade of scholarship has been demanded of both teacher and 
students. * 

In 1900, out of a total number of 47,421 students in the professional 
courses of public normal schools, 12,432, or a little over 26 per cent, 
were males. In 1910 in corresponding courses, there were 79,546 
students; 17,096, or a little over 21 per cent of them, were males. 
These figures foretell a still further reduction in the relative number 
of men teachers for the public schools. 

There is a rapidly growing conviction that the entrance require- 
ments for the normal school should not be lower than that for college ; 
or in other words that the completion of a four-year high-school 
course should be the minimum requirement. Several States have 
such requirements, and it is to be hoped that all will come to this as 
soon as practicable. This would permit the normal schools to devote 
their time mainly to the professional side, and save the States the 
expense now made necessary by duplicating the work of the sec- 
ondary schools. The conditions in some parts of the country, how- 
ever, do not yet warrant this change, but the time is rapidly approach- 
ing when this requirement ought to prevail in every State. 



SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, 1900-1910. 11 

During the last years of the period under consideration, there 
seems to have been an unmistakable tendency for the stronger high 
schools to include in their work certain courses designed to prepare 
students to teach in the common schools. Kansas has inaugurated 
this movement in a large majority of her better high schools, and 
Arkansas, Iowa, and other States are doing the same thing. Such 
courses are not designed to take the place of normal-school courses, 
but rather to help in some measure, by giving to those who would 
otherwise enter upon the work of teaching without any professional 
preparation some insight into the purposes and methods of the 
common schools, especially the rural schools. The plan is still on 
trial, and in order to succeed it will need wise guidance and careful 
limitations. 

GENERAL AGENCIES FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF TEACHERS. 

The various agencies at work for the improvement of teachers 
already in service have increased in effectiveness during the decade 
and promise even better results in the near future. Teachers' 
institutes, reading circles, State and local summer schools, school- 
improvement work, etc., are gradually becoming more effective, 
are reaching a greater number of the teachers and the more progres- 
sive communities as a whole. In a bulletin published by this bureau 
this phase of educational work is treated exhaustively. 1 

HIGHER EDUCATION. 

In the realm of higher education the decade just closed has been 
marked rather by reorganization and the development of the spirit 
of wider service than by the founding of great institutions. Vast 
expansion of function, both upward and outward; notable elevation 
of standards, especially of graduate and professional education, 
accompanied by thoroughgoing investigation and discussion of the 
subjects and methods of instruction; distinct improvement in busi- 
ness organization and administration in both public and private 
institutions; unprecedented drafting of university experts into State 
and Federal service; and unparalleled increases in registration, 
endowment, and income are all features of the progress of the past 
10 years. The increase in revenues from taxation in the case of 
tax-supported institutions has greatly outstripped the increased 
incomes of endowed private institutions. The following figures will 
illustrate various phases of this noteworthy development from 1900 
to 1910: The attendance of collegiate and resident graduate students 
in the universities, colleges, and schools of technology for men, for 
both sexes, and for women, rose from 109,929 to 183,583; the num- 

1 Agencies for the Improvement of Teachers in Service, by William Carl Ruediger. 



12 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

ber of professors and instructors from 16,921 to 27,279; productive 
funds from $166,193,529 to $273,423,328; and income, exclusive of 
additions to endowment, from $28,558,463 to $77,873,367. At the 
close of the decade 177 colleges and universities were maintaining 
departments of education designed not only to train teachers for 
secondary schools but also to develop a general interest in the larger 
questions of public education. 

PROGRESS IN THE TEACHING OF AGRICULTURE. 

In 10 years the number of students in the agricultural and mech- 
anical colleges, in the regular four-year courses in agriculture, has 
increased more than threefold. These colleges have established 
extension work in agriculture and are reaching farmers throughout 
the States by every form of extension teaching: Educational trains, 
farmers' institutes, lecture courses, short courses at the colleges and 
at other centers, correspondence courses, summer schools, traveling 
expert advisers, farm demonstration work, etc. Many are offering 
four-year, two-year, and one-year courses for teachers in agriculture. 
Several colleges other than those in the list of " land-grant" institu- 
tions are introducing agricultural courses. 

Agriculture has been permanently introduced into the curricula of 
very many public schools. There are about 100 agricultural second- 
ary schools supported in whole or in part by the States in which they 
are located — district schools of Georgia, State schools of New York, 
county schools of Wisconsin, etc. About 2,000 public high schools 
give instruction in agriculture as a separate subject in more or less 
complete courses. Courses in agriculture are given in 106 State 
normal schools. 

Agriculture is a required subject in all common schools of 12 States; 
in the rural schools of 5, and in the rural high schools of 3. It is 
required for teachers' certificates in 16, and is optional in 3. Special 
agricultural schools receiving State aid are established in 16 States, 
and are authorized in North Dakota. State aid to departments of 
agriculture in high schools is given in 12 States. Secondary schools 
of agriculture or secondary courses in agriculture, in addition to the 
collegiate courses, are maintained by the State agricultural colleges 
of 31 States. Summer schools giving elementary agriculture for 
teachers are conducted by 34 of these institutions, and short courses 
for farmers of from 2 to 12 weeks are maintained by the majority of 
them. In another part of this volume can be found detailed informa- 
tion bearing on recent progress in agricultural education. 

FORESTRY SCHOOLS. 

There were no schools of forestry 10 years ago, although brief 
courses were given in a few of the agricultural and mechanical col- 



SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, 1900-1910. 13 

leges before the Yale Forest School was established in 1900. Now 
there are 5 graduate schools giving the master's degree, 18 colleges 
giving four-year courses leading to the bachelor's degree, and at 
least 25 giving shorter courses from one-half to one year under the 
general courses in botany or horticulture. There are, also, two pro- 
fessional schools of forestry, which require no preliminary college 
training, and a few secondary schools offering work in forestry. 

EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE SOUTHERN STATES. 

In the Southern States the average length of the school term has 
increased from approximately 5 months to over 6 months, and the 
average number of days of schooling given for every child from 5 to 
18 years of age has increased from 45 to 56 days. 

The public high schools for white children in the Southern States 
have increased in numbers in a very encouraging manner. In 1900 
there were, as shown by the figures furnished this office, 1,032 public 
high schools for white children; by 1910 this number had increased 
to 2,194, or more than 100 per cent. The number of teachers 
employed for these schools had increased from 2,648 to 6,482, or 
more than 144 per cent. The number of students in 1900 amounted 
to 62,289; in 1910 there were 137,469, a growth of 120 per cent. 

This rapid development of the secondary schools in the South 
promises great good to the people of that section of the country. 
Heretofore many boys and girls were denied the privilege of high- 
school training for their life's work because of their inability to meet 
the expense connected with such training in private schools or in 
public high schools in the larger cities. This condition is rapidly 
giving way, and in a few years no ambitious boy or girl in this section 
will be thus handicapped. Moreover, the high schools that are 
springing up in all parts of the South are in the main wisely adjusted 
to the conditions of the South, both as college preparatory schools 
and as preparatory to life's demands. It is especially noteworthy 
to find a wholesome classical and literary spirit being developed in 
conjunction with training in agriculture and for scientific pursuits. 

One of the serious difficulties the South is now called to face is to 
secure a sufficient number of virile men well prepared to conduct the 
high schools and to become safe leaders in this educational renais- 
sance. Until recent times, law, medicine, and the ministry have 
absorbed the most promising men. By reason of the peculiar con- 
ditions and the prestige of these professions in the South, it will 
require a great deal of work and higher standards of teaching and 
better salaries to turn a sufficient number of good men toward 
educational work. As it is now, it is more difficult to find well- 
prepared men to manage and lead educational affairs in the South 
than it is in the North. 






14 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

In 1900 the estimated number of white children from 5 to 18 years 
of age in the Southern States was 5,892,392. The number had 
increased to 6,566,184 in 1909, or over 11 per cent.' The total 
enrollment in the common schools for white children had increased 
from 4,261,309 to 4,909,283, a gain of over 15 per cent. The average 
daily attendance had increased from a total of 2,775,059 to 3,257,185, 
or above 17 per cent. The number of teachers in 1900 was 98,710, 
and in 1909 it was 122,941, a gain of more than 24 per cent. 

One of the peculiar features of public education in the South lies 
in the fact that local taxation for school purposes is limited. In 
several of these States in 1900 the amount raised by local taxation 
was but little over half as much as that appropriated by the States 
directly. The money appropriated by 11 Southern States for public 
schools in 1900 amounted to $14,843,787. For the same year the 
total amount raised by local taxation in these States was $20,616,445. 
Ohio alone in 1900 raised $20,825,730 by local taxation, while from 
her State funds were appropriated only $2,100,794. This centralized 
form of school control and school maintenance in the South is grad- 
ually giving way to a more democratic local form of school manage- 
ment. Commenting on this fact of centralization in school matters, 
Mr. R. H. Powell, jr., the Rural School Supervisor for Georgia, has 
said: " There is a tendency to look to the State to do all for educa- 
tion — a dangerously undemocratic tendency toward centralization 
of government and destruction of local self-reliance." 

WORK OF THE SOUTHERN EDUCATION BOARD. 

The Southern Education Board, formally organized in New York 
City November 3, 1901, was a direct outgrowth of conferences which 
had been held first at Capron Springs, W. Va., and later at Winston 
Salem, N. C. It is not incorporated. Its officers at present are: 
Chairman, Robert C. Ogden, New York City; treasurer, George 
Foster Peabody, New York City; executive secretary, Wickliffe 
Rose, Washington, D. C. 

The purposes set forth at its organization and so successfully 
carried out during the decade, are as follows : 

1. To conduct a campaign of education for free schools for all the 
people, by supplying literature to the newspapers and periodical 
press, by participating in educational meetings, and by general 
correspondence. 

2. To conduct a bureau of information and advice on legislation 
and school organization. 

3. For these purposes this board is authorized to raise funds and 
disburse them, to employ a secretary or agent, and to do whatever 
may be necessary to carry out effectively these measures, and others 
that may from time to time be found feasible and desirable. 



SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, 1900-1910. 15 

The value of the service this board has rendered is inestimable; 
its influence has been felt in the remotest corners of 11 Southern 
States. Systematic campaigns have been undertaken in all these 
States, and the doctrines and needs of public education preached to the 
common people, as well as to those who have had better advantages. 

In Mr. G. S. Dickerman's " Review of Five Years of Educational 
Progress in the South," published by the Southern Education Board 
October, 1907, accounts of some of these campaigns are given, and 
they should be read by all who would appreciate the work of this 
board, as well as by those who are seeking to understand the causes 
of the great educational awakening of the South. In a very decided 
way the Southern Education Board has understood the needs of the 
South and has helped where help was needed, and has encouraged 
in the most practical manner. 

VOCATIONAL TRAINING. 

Since the close of the past century the ideals, purposes, and courses 
of study for the public schools have been examined with a thorough- 
ness and discussed with an earnestness commendable in the highest 
degree. As a result there has come about a general demand that 
more time should be given to training in English, nature study, 
manual training, and, especially in the last years of the decade, to 
vocational training. For the boys this has usually taken the form 
of work in wood and iron. Girls have had much variety of work, often 
disconnected and unorganized. From manual training more or less 
like that given to the boys, they have in recent years been turned 
toward those lines of work that every housekeeper ought to know 
and be able to do, such as cooking, sewing, caring for infants, and 
supervising intelligently the outlay for food and clothing for the 
family. This latter movement promises more definite results, and 
offers far more opportunities for real usefulness as well as culture 
than much that was given earlier in the name of manual training. 
One can foretell without appreciable error what, in the main, the life 
work of 90 per cent of the women of the next generation will be. 
Hence it ought to be comparatively easy to work out a course of study 
for girls which will result in definite training for 'that which is really 
and surely coming. The children of the future will learn their 
mothers' language, absorb their mothers' culture, and be largely 
subject to their mothers' guidance. The future mother will have to 
spend much time and thought on clothing, cooking, washing, and the 
general care of her children, just as mothers do to-day. There will 
be houses to build and furnish; houses to clean and keep clean; 
mending to do; health conditions to consider; plans for entertaining 
friends; and, perhaps more than now, definite and thoughtful con- 
sideration of how to make life worth while on a meager and some- 



16 EDUCATION KEPOKT, 1911. 

times irregular income. Surely thoughtful women teachers ought to 
be able to see in this newer phase of training for girls a great oppor- 
tunity for real culture, as well as specific preparation for housekeeping. 
Meanwhile the work is still chaotic, and needs adjustment and revision. 

The old form of manual training for boys has doubtless served 
useful purposes, but for the most part it has been too indefinite and 
theoretical. The highly elaborated and logical system of sloyd has 
not taken hold of boy nature in a vital way, because it is based too 
exclusively on mere drill work, and too rarely produces a product 
worth the endeavor. In some way boys must be allowed to under- 
take real problems if a real lively interest in manual work is 
desired. It is far more educational for a boy to undertake to make 
a chair and get an imperfect product than it is to simply practice 
sawing, planing, carving, cutting, and boring. 

The future occupations of boys can not be foretold with the same 
degree of certainty as those for girls. The variety of opportunities, 
duties, and responsibilities for the men of coming generations is 
bound to be even greater than to-day; but specific training in some 
useful and fundamental present-day occupation will not only help 
him to find himself, but, when properly taught, will give him an insight 
into social and industrial progress of vital importance to every 
citizen. He will then learn to do something, and at the same time 
get some vision into the intricacies of human society. The civiliza- 
tion or culture of any nation is reflected in its trades and industries. 
Tools, machines, and manufactured products of all sorts represent 
the epitomized struggles of humanity. 

The chief difficulty in vocational training in the schools lies in the 
fact that the variety of work which can be undertaken is limited. 
The only practical escape at this time seems to be through some 
method of cooperation between schools and homes, shops, farms, and 
general business interests. In the future, perhaps, the word " school" 
will connote the organized efforts of the whole community to furnish 
to the children opportunities to learn as well as to do. At any rate, 
there is at present an unmistakable drift in that direction. 

Vocational training implies the acquirement of skill, and in addi- 
tion ought to mean progressive growth in the valuation of labor. 
The future citizen will have to live in a complex civilization, where 
cooperation and interdependence will prevail even to a greater degree 
than at present. 

In recent years a great deal of criticism has been heaped upon the 
schools for their alleged lack of a practical sort of education. Much 
of this criticism has been just; but the most practical thing in fife is 
not money getting nor even skill in a trade. The American people 
need to be reminded frequently that along with this educative, 
practical contact with the ordinary duties of life, there is also need 



SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, 1900-1910. 17 

for that inspiration and culture which come from an intimate knowl- 
edge of the ideals, aspirations, and wisdom of the human spirit at its 
best. We need especially to see and understand that unless these 
common duties of life, be they ever so necessary, are utilized and 
made subservient to the real purposes of life, we shall eventually 
miss the mark. It is to be hoped, therefore, that, together with this 
most commendable attempt to teach boys and girls the dignity of 
labor, and train them to do skillfully some of the important duties of 
life, teachers will rise to that higher point of view which will enable 
them to utilize this work for insight, wisdom, and virtue. 

COMPULSORY ATTENDANCE LAWS. 

During this decade perhaps no topic in school legislation has had 
more thoughtful consideration than that of compulsory school 
attendance. Prior to 1900 more than 30 States had laws relating to 
compulsory attendance, but many of these laws were ineffective, and 
most of them were not sufficiently throughgoing in their requirements 
to meet the demands satisfactorily. In general, then, it can be said 
that while comparatively few States had not undertaken the work in 
1900, most of them had yet to learn what they really needed in the 
way of legislation and to make clear the exact purpose and principles 
underlying compulsory attendance laws. During these years, then, 
the progress that has been made is that of development rather than 
initiation. Comparatively few backward steps have been taken, and 
decided advances have been made in many States in the matter of 
lengthening the required annual attendance, and especially in 
requiring specific educational attainments regardless of the time 
element. The age limits formerly set have been extended, and the 
laws have been made more strict with reference to the classes of 
children coming under their provisions. In the beginning of this 
movement, many compulsory attendance laws were almost useless, 
because they did not provide a practicable means for their enforce- 
ment. In recent years these weaknesses have been largely eliminated, 
and in most States compulsory attendance laws are now worthy of 
the name. 

Back of all the details, however, one can see clearly the temper and 
the more or less unconscious educational philosophy of the people. 
They believe not only that every child has the right to opportunity, 
but they believe more specifically than ever before, that the State 
has a definite right to protect itself from the dangers of ignorance. 

The progress of legislation on child labor has had a vital bearing 
on compulsory attendance laws. Practically no legislation has been 
enacted with reference to the regulation of child labor which has not 
had, directly or indirectly, some relation to schooling. To cite two 
illustrations: Georgia enacted in 1908 a law regulating the employ- 
13144°— ed 1911— vol 1 2 



18 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

meat of children in factories and manufacturing establishments, in 
which the following provisions are found: " No child under 14 years 
of age shall be employed, unless he or she can write his or her name 
and simple sentences, and shall have attended school for 12 weeks of the 
preceding year, 6 weeks of which school attendance shall be con- 
secutive;" Idaho in 1907 enacted that "No minor who is under 16 
years of age shall be employed or permitted to work at any gainful 
occupation during the hours that the public schools of the district 
in which he resides are in session, unless he can read at sight and 
write legibly simple sentences in the English language, and has 
received instruction in spelling, English grammar, and geography, 
and is familiar with the fundamental operations of arithmetic up to 
and including fractions, or has similar attainments in another 
language." 

Compulsory attendance upon schools was required in 1910 in all 
States in the North. The only States, in fact, which did not have 
compulsory laws were Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Missis- 
sippi, South Carolina, and Texas. 

PENSIONS FOR TEACHERS. 

In 1900 no teacher in the common schools of any State was pen- 
sioned from public school funds. In 1910 Rhode Island and Mary- 
land had laws providing pensions, to be paid under given conditions 
wholly from State funds. In New York teachers in State institu- 
tions are granted pensions, and the laws of New Jersey require local 
authorities to pension teachers who have served 35 years. The Legis- 
lature of Massachusetts has enacted a law requiring the Boston 
school committee to levy a tax for a pension fund, and also another 
allowing all cities and towns other than Boston to provide pension 
funds if, in duly appointed elections, the people in these cities and 
towns so decide. Other States have enacted laws requiring all the 
teachers in cities of a given population to pay a certain per cent 
of their salary into a pension fund. Further details of the most 
recent legislation on the matter of pensions can be found in another 
part of this report. It is enough to say in this connection that 
decided progress has been made in the past 10 years in legislation 
touching the matter of teachers' pensions, and that the time has come 
when public funds are used for this purpose. 

CONTINUATION SCHOOLS. 

The movement for so-called continuation schools in this country 
has made rapid progress in the past 10 years, although no definite 
standardization has yet been attained; probably that is undesirable 
at this time. The term "continuation school" has come to desig- 



SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, 1900-1910. 19 

nate "any type of school which offers to people while they are at 
work opportunity for further education and training." Naturally, 
for the most part, they are evening schools, largely composed of 
young men and young women who have discovered the need of some 
general or special training in order to make more satisfactory progress 
in their daily employment. For a careful and extended discussion of 
the continuation schools the reader is referred to Bulletin No. 1, 
1907, prepared for this bureau by Mr. Arthur J. Jones. 

Within the past decade the leading railroad corporations of this 
country have organized and developed a new set of vocational 
schools. True, a beginning had been made before 1900, but the 
schools as they now exist are almost wholly the product of this 
decade. In a bulletin (No. 10, 1909) published by this bureau, Mr. 
J. Shirley Eaton has gone into the matter at length. He also calls 
attention to the various apprenticeship systems used, and to a new 
sort of cooperative educational work between the railroads and 
various high schools and colleges throughout the country. The 
movement as a whole is a most interesting one and is bringing to 
light some striking educational experiments. 

LACK OF PROGRESS IN MUSICAL EDUCATION. 

It is a matter of regret that there is no general forward movement 
in music education to record. Doubtless some advances here and 
there have been made, but as far as can be seen there is no clearly 
marked and definite call from the hearts of the people that their 
children shall be trained in music, or even trained to appreciate it. 
The American people are eye-minded, and moving pictures seem to 
suit their desires better than music. In some way the people should 
be taught to hear the significant things of life, as well as to see them. 

CARE OF DEFECTIVE CHILDREN. 

Progress in the educational care of defectives and delinquents 
is clearly shown by the amount of recent State legislation relating 
thereto, and by the special provisions made in many city systems for 
the better care of these unfortunates. In a very definite way these 
special provisions express the deep humanitarian tendencies of the 
times. The doctrine which lies back of this faith might be set forth 
in some such phrase as this: All defectives and delinquents who can 
profit by education deserve at public expense that special training 
which will enable them to get more out of life, and to contribute to 
it all that their capabilities will permit. 

MEDICAL INSPECTION OF SCHOOLS. 

Medical inspection of schools did not begin in this country in any 
specific and thoroughgoing way until 1894, and in 1900 there were 



20 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

comparatively few cities or States undertaking such work. In 1910, 
according to returns published by the Russell Sage Foundation, 
department of child hygiene, there were 400 cities with systems of 
medical inspection. As late as 1905 there were but 55 cities wherein 
medical inspection was regularly undertaken. From these figures 
it can be seen at a glance that this phase of public-school work has 
developed with great rapidity. This rapid advancement has been 
made possible partly by the fact that European countries preceded 
us by many years in this work and we have been able to profit by 
their experiments and by the systems they evolved. Nevertheless 
many adjustments have been made, and doubtless many changes will 
yet be made before any one plan will serve as a standard. Originally 
the work was undertaken mainly as a means of preventing and con- 
trolling contagious diseases and for the discovery and better care 
of children with defective vision or hearing. It now includes in its 
purview almost all matters pertaining to the physical welfare of child 
fife while in school, and has in many places been extended so as to 
take cognizance of home conditions as they affect the health of the 
children. The " school nurse," dental hygiene, general physical 
examination of teachers and pupils, and all that pertains to the 
hygiene of instruction and the care of school premises, are now rec- 
ognized parts of this new and highly useful branch of school work. 
In addition, the medical men in this department of the public-school 
service are influencing in many ways the teaching of general hygiene 
in the school curriculum. 

Sound health is vital to any community as well as to the nation, 
and our people have not been slow to recognize the great value of this 
service. Every good citizen who studies the movement will rejoice 
in the great progress made, and will hope for and confidently expect a 
wider and fuller development in the immediate future. The urgent 
need now is to extend it so as to include the country children in its 
scope. 

PROGRESS IN SANITATION. 

During the decade there has been marked improvement in the 
demand of the more informed classes for better sanitation in the 
cities and towns, and, to some extent, in the country. There is a 
general disposition now developing to connect good citizenship with 
cleanliness and sanitation. This movement toward better health 
conditions is manifested in the adjustment, to this end, of the courses 
offered in high schools and colleges in biology, chemistry, and hy- 
giene. The general subject of school hygiene and sanitation is 
demanding more attention, and the work in physiology in the elemen- 
tary schools is including more information and training in matters 
pertaining to personal and community health. This comparatively 
new emphasis on sanitation has grown directly out of the wonderful 



SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, 1900-1910. 21 

advances that have been made in the last quarter of a century in 
bacteriology and medical science. In the schools these new points 
of view are expressing themselves in the demand for larger play- 
grounds, better methods of heating and ventilation, the disuse of the 
common drinking cup, medical inspection, dental hygiene, and many 
other matters relating to the health of school children. Practically 
all the States have passed laws on these and kindred subjects, and 
the outlook for the immediate future is encouraging. 

What might be called a national crusade against the house fly and 
the mosquito has grown out of the results of investigations connecting 
these pests with the spread of typhoid fever and malaria. The news- 
papers of the country have done helpful service in aiding in this move- 
ment, for they have used their columns freely to create a widespread 
public sentiment in favor of better rural and municipal sanitation. 
The Rockefeller Sanitary Commission for the Eradication of Hook- 
worm Disease came into existence during the decade, and it is now 
engaged in teaching the people the necessary sanitary measures for 
preventing this disease as well as the proper therapeutic measures 
for those who are already infected. 

In 1907 Mrs. Russell Sage gave the sum of $10,000,000 to a board 
of trustees who are to use the income to " eradicate so far as possible 
the causes of poverty and ignorance." The department of child 
hygiene of this foundation has shown unusual energy and has pub- 
lished many buUetins and books bearing on vital questions of health 
and sanitation. As a result, the quickening interest in playgrounds, 
open-air schools, and medical inspection has been fostered and the 
results of many valuable investigations have been published. 

This general awakening for better sanitation is not limited to our 
country, but it is clearly a world movement, and will ultimately issue 
in relieving humanity from much suffering, poverty, and vice. An 
education which does not teach children, as well as adults, the real 
significance of good health, and some of the most fundamental laws 
of personal and community hygiene, is faulty and meretricious. 

EDUCATION OF NEGROES. 

Before calling attention to the figures relating to the education 
of the negroes, it is only fair to say that the statistical material on 
negro education, which the bureau has been able to secure, is far 
from complete and therefore not accurate. There are many oppor- 
tunities and occasions for errors in the returns furnished to the 
various State superintendents, and there are no common standards 
among the States for gathering and classifying the returns. How- 
ever, it appears from the figures furnished that in 1900 there were 
in average attendance in the public elementary schools of 16 Southern 
States and the District of Columbia 957,160 negro children. For 



'J 'J EDUCATION KEPORT, 1911. 



their instruction, 27,182 teachers were employed. In 1910 there 
wore 1,116,811 in average daily attendance, with a corps of 30,334 
teachers. This is an increase of a little over 16 per cent in the 
number in attendance, and slightly over 11 per cent in the number 
of teachers employed. 

In the 92 public high schools for negroes in 1900 there were 5,232 
students who were classified as pursuing secondary subjects. The 
corresponding figures for the 141 high schools in 1910 show 8,251 
students of high-school grade, an increase of over 57 per cent. The 
total number of teachers for these schools had increased from 272 
in 1900 to 473 in 1910, or more than 73 per cent. 

In addition to the students who are classified as doing regular 
high-school work, there were in these so-called high schools, in 
1900, pupils classified as elementary students to the number of 
3,216; in 1910 the number of this same grade of students was only 
2,684. This decrease in the amount of elementary work done in high 
schools suggests that at present the public high schools for negroes 
are of a higher grade than were those at the beginning of the century. 

The increased expenditure for public secondary education for 
negroes can not be accurately estimated because of the fact that the 
expense accounts for those doing real high-school work and those 
who have actually been doing elementary work have not been kept 
separate. In addition, several States have been unable to furnish 
the returns desired. 

In general, there has been marked progress in public high schools 
for negroes, especially in Texas, Missouri, Georgia, Mississippi, and 
Florida. In 1910 Texas reported 36 high schools for the negroes; 
Missouri, 21; Georgia, 1 1 ; Mississippi, 8. 

Up to this time, however, the major part of the higher training for 
negroes has been given in private academies, institutes, and colleges, 
and these are of all grades of worth. In 1900, according to returns 
furnished this bureau, there were 145 such schools, In 1910, 189 
were reported. Nearly all of them have elementary, secondary, and 
collegiate work, and are supported and directed very largely by 
religious denominations and charitable organizations. 

In these private schools in 1900 there were enrolled a total of 
37,696 students; of these 20,348 were females and 17,348 were males. 
More than half of the students were in the elementary grades. The 
total number reported as doing secondary work was 13,267. The 
total number of teachers employed was 1,826. For the year 1910, 
in 189 schools of the same general type, 57,915 students were enrolled; 
25,730 males, 32,185 females. Of these, 19,654 were listed as 
students of secondary grade. The total number of teachers 
employed was 2,941. These figures show an increase in secondary 
students in private schools during the 10 years of a little over 



SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL. PROGRESS, 1900-1910. 23 

48 per cent, and in the whole number enrolled, regardless of their 
classification, as above 53 per cent. 

This comparison brings to light two facts: (a) The number of 
the negroes receiving secondary and higher training in private 
schools is much larger than that in public schools; (b) relatively 
speaking, the percentage of growth for public high schools for negroes 
for the decade appears to be slightly in excess of that for private 
schools maintained for the same purpose. 

In an elaborate and very interesting volume entitled "An Era of 
Progress and Promise," edited by Mr. W. N. Hartshorn, and pub- 
lished by the Priscilla Publishing Co., Boston, 1910, there is the 
most specific account heretofore published of the Religious, Moral, 
and Educational Development of the American Negro since His 
Emancipation (1863-1910). 

From lists of 259 private educational institutions for negroes, 
printed in this volume, the following facts have been gleaned: In 
1908 the total number of students in these institutions was 76,169. 
These schools are operated and controlled by various religious 
denominations, societies, and independent boards. During the 
decade from 1900 to 1910, the number of schools as listed increased 
from 218 to 259. In detailed statements concerning 120 of these 
schools under control of churches, it is learned that the total number 
of students for 1908 was 41,752, teachers 1,633, and that the annual 
expense incurred amounted to $1,388,041. 

The character of educational work for negroes has changed very 
materially since the beginning of the century, and teachers and 
preachers alike are emphasizing the need of vocational training as 
the most important means for the uplift of this people. Booker T. 
Washington has, without doubt, been the most forceful apostle of 
this new education for his people, and, despite much protest from 
some of the educators of his race, he has preached the doctrine of 
regeneration through thrift, better farms, better homes, and better 
sanitation, as well as through the ordinary educational means. 

INDIAN EDUCATION. 

Within the past 10 years it appears that the educational care of 
Indian children has received especial attention along the following 
lines: The boys have had better and longer training in industrial 
work, including agriculture, stock raising, carpentry, etc., while the 
girls have had more help in all that pertains to homekeeping, such as 
cooking, sewing, nursing, and sanitation. 

In a manual, prepared in 1910 for the Indian schools, by Hon. 
R. G. Valentine, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, it is declared 
that u We are maintaining a great system of schools for the Indians, 
which in a sense enrolls the entire race. * * * Our Indian 



24 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

population extends into 26 States of the Union, and in a few genera- 
tions at least it will have been largely fused with the citizenship 
of these great Common wealths." It is, therefore, the avowed inten- 
tion of those who have charge of this branch of educational work "to 
make the course of study- for each Indian school conform to the 
course of stud}?- adopted by the State or county in which it is sit- 
uated." This plan is designed to put the various Indian schools, 
particularly the day schools, in condition for future absorption 
into the State school systems, because of having the same course of 
study and to a considerable extent the same series of textbooks. 
The teachers and supervisors, however, are warned that "the adop- 
tion of the State courses of study by Indian schools must not be used 
as an excuse for the inclusion in the work of the school of anything 
that is not of recognized value to Indian pupils. The welfare of 
the pupils must be kept constantly in mind, and a slavish adherence 
to State courses would be almost as objectionable as would be the 
neglect to adhere to any course." 

In his Annual Report to the Secretary of the Interior, for the year 
ending June 30, 1910, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs calls 
attention to the following improvements in the administration 
and supervision of Indian schools: (a) An adequate system of 
supervision has been provided, by dividing the whole territory 
involved into six districts, with a supervisor in charge of each district. 
(b) A chief supervisor has been appointed to have general direction 
of all the supervisors, (c) Plans are being formulated to follow up 
pupils after they leave school, in order to render them additional 
service, by helping them to overcome the temptation to drop back 
into the unprogressive customs and practices of the various tribes 
to which they belong. The essential features of this plan are — 

that the pupil, when he leaves the reservation, shall carry a letter from the superin- 
tendent to the superintendent of the nonreservation school, acquainting the latter 
with the essential facts in the life of the pupil, and indicating to him the conditions 
on the reservation to which he will return. * * * When a pupil leaves school 
he will carry a letter to the superintendent of the reservation to which he returns, 
with directions that it be presented immediately upon his arrival. This will give 
the home superintendent a splendid opportunity to gather from the pupil an idea 
of his plans and prospects and to give the pupil wholesome advice. It will open 
the way to him to keep a fatherly eye on the boy until he gets well on his feet. 

(d) The health conditions are being more carefully guarded than 
heretofore. The principal features of this work consist in — 

(1) An intensive attack upon the two diseases that most seriously menace the health 
of the Indians— trachoma and tuberculosis. (2) Preventive work on a large scale, 
by means of popular education along health lines and more effective sanitary inspec- 
tion. (3) Increased attention to the physical welfare of the children in the schools, 
eo that the physical stamina of the coming generation may be conserved and increased. 



SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, 1900-1910. 



25 



PROGRESS OF EDUCATION IN HAWAII. 

It appears from the Keport of the Superintendent of Public 
Instruction of the Territory of Hawaii, made to the governor for 
the two years ending December 31, 1900, that the total appropria- 
tions for all public-school purposes during these years amounted 
to $738,058.41. Of this total, the sum of $19,720.09 was used' for 
the erection of new school buildings and cottages for teachers. For 
the biennial period ending December 31, 1910, the appropriation 
for all purposes amounted to $876,440. The cost per capita of 
public-school education was not materially changed during the 
decade, but advancements were made, especially in the work of 
supervision, medical inspection, industrial training, and better 
school buildings. 

One of the most interesting and suggestive features of the school 
statistics of Hawaii is that relating to the changes in nationality of 
the pupils in the past 10 years. The accompanying table is adapted 
from the Keport of the Superintendent of Public Instruction for 
the two years ending December 31, 1910, and deserves thoughtful 
consideration. 

Comparative table of the nationalities of pupils attending school in the Territory of 

■ Hawaii for the years 1900-1910. 



Nationalities. 


1900 


1902 


1904 


1906 


1908 


1910 


Hawaiian 


4,977 

2,631 

699 

232 

320 

3,809 

114 

1,352 

1,289 


5,076 

2,934 

796 

215 

333 

4,335 

108 

2,341 

1,499 

593 


4,983 

3,267 

931 

226 

252 

4,448 

93 

3,313 

1,875 

437 


4,906 

3,500 

1,009 

187 

273 

4,437 

82 

4,547 

2,197 

392 

161 

199 


4,767 

3,691 

999 

189 

265 

4,777 

67 

6,095 

2,797 

447 

168 

594 


4,354 
3,718 


Part Hawaiian 


American 


1,056 


British 


152 


German 


261 


Portuguese 


4,890 


Scandinavian 


Japanese 


7,262 
2,872 


Chinese 


Porto Rican 


350 


Korean 




270 


Other foreigners 


115 


152 


192 


585 






Total 


15, 537 


18, 382 


20, 017 


21, 890 


24, 856 


25,770 





From this table it will be readily seen that the number of Hawaiian 
children attending schools is gradually decreasing, and the number 
of children "Part Hawaiian' ' increasing. But the most striking 
change is seen in the rapid increase of the numbers of Japanese and 
Portuguese children. In 1900 there were 1,352 Japanese children 
in school; in 1910 there were 7,262, or an increase in the 10 years 
of more than 437 per cent. It will be observed that during the decade 
two other nationalities make their appearance in this medley of 
school population, viz, Korean and Porto Eican, while apparently 
Scandinavia ceases to be represented. By comparing the figures in 
the table here given with those relating to public and private school 
attendance it will be seen that the growth in public-school attend- 



26 EDUCATION BEPORT, 1911. 

anee has been confined very largely to children of Asiatic or Por- 
tuguese parentage. In 1900 slightly over 38 per cent of the total 
number of children in the public schools were of these nationalities, 
but in 1910 they represented more than 61 per cent of the public- 
school enrollment. Meanwhile the children of American, British, 
an<i German parentage are turning more and more to private schools, 
for it must be that in a school where most of the children know the 
English language imperfectly, an English-speaking child will not be 
able to get sufficient attention to make proper progress in his studies. 
Furthermore, it appears from the figures given in 1910 that only a 
little over 14 per cent of all public-school pupils were classified above 
the fourth grade, and more than half were not beyond the third 
grade. The numbers in attendance upon the high schools and 
normal school, included in the total of public-school pupils, were 
254 and 136, respectively. 

Changes of vital moment have taken place in the nationality of 
the teaching force. In 1900 out of 352 teachers in the public schools 
175 were Americans. In 1910 out of 501 teachers, only 168 were 
Americans. The accessions to the numbers of public-school teachers 
in the 10 years have come almost wholly from the Hawaiian and 
Part Hawaiian. There was a slight increase in the number of 
Portuguese and Chinese employed. This change in the personnel 
of the teaching staff is bound to have a marked influence on the 
educational work of the islands. 

PUBLIC EDUCATION IN PORTO BICO. 

For the year 1900, the year succeeding the American occupation, 
the total enrollment in the public schools of Porto Rico was 24,392. 
Ten years later the number had increased to 121,453, or at the rate 
of nearly 400 per cent. The average daily attendance during the 
same time had risen from 20,103 to 84,258 or at the rate of approxi- 
mately 300 per cent. In 1900 there were 632 teachers in public- 
school work. In 1910 there were 1,692. The total annual cost for 
schooling per pupil in average daily attendance amounted in 1900 
to $18.50; in 1910 to $14.01. 

In addition to the rapid development in the teaching of agricul- 
ture, domestic arts, English language, and the various fundamental 
subjects in Porto Rico, there has developed a most interesting 
system of scholarships open to all who show marked proficiency in 
their studies. It is now possible for a bright pupil "in the remotest 
barrio within the island to be carried through to graduation at the 
best university in the United States entirely as a Government 
scholarship student." This system is in force in such a way as to 
encourage the students and to afford the authorities opportunity 
to select young people for further work in preparation for teaching, 



SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, 1900-1910. 27 

for agriculturists, and special workers in general. At another place 
in this report there will be found a detailed report from the com- 
missioner of schools, Dr. E. G. Dexter. It is enough to say here 
that the people of this island have taken a lively interest in the 
development of the public schools, and that practically most that 
now exists in the way of educational effort and opportunity has 
come since 1899, the year of American occupation. 

DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATION IN THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. 

The development of the educational system of the Philippine 
Islands since the American occupation has attracted world-wide 
attention. When a shipload of American teachers sailed from San 
Francisco in 1901 in response to a call for help, a new sort of con- 
quest was instituted. Many of the islands were then little known and 
their inhabitants were of many races and many tongues. Some 
parts were occupied by people of culture, while others were inhabited 
by half civilized and warlike peoples. The attempt from the first 
was not to force upon them American ideals of life and culture, but 
to use teachers from the States to start the work of education, and to 
prepare native teachers as rapidly as possible to take their places. 
The first large question to settle was to determine the language to 
be used in the schools. The English language was selected, for the 
reason that there was no common language spoken or written by any 
large portion of the people. This necessitated school books in Eng- 
lish adapted to the conditions there found, and to the content in the 
children's minds. 

Under these and many other difficulties the educational work in 
these islands has made striking progress. In 1910 the total number 
of schools was 4,531, with 9,007 teachers and apprentices. The 
enrollment for September of this last year of the decade amounted to 
587,317, and the average monthly attendance to 337,307. As 
rapidly as consistent with progress and justice to the children, the 
relative number of American teachers has been reduced, until at this 
time less than 10 per cent of the teachers employed are from the 
States. It is almost beyond credence to assert that such a variety 
of school children, comprising such striking differences in capacity 
and customs, should be brought to use, even meagerly, a complicated 
foreign language as the medium of education within a decade. But 
such has been the case, and the experiment has apparently been 
fully justified. It may not be amiss to call attention to the fact that 
no such gigantic experiment in the teaching of a foreign language was 
ever undertaken before. Surely the methods employed and the 
results attained deserve the most careful consideration. Some com- 
petent American teacher who has been in the thick of it all ought to 



28 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

organize and describe the methods and means through which such 
results have been achieved. 

When American occupation began there were few schools and 
fewer competent teachers. The work given was more or less unre- 
lated to the lives of the pupils and the opportunities before them. 
A little over 10 years later we find on the whole a better system of 
vocational training for the elementary schools than can be found any- 
where in the States. 

It is often instructive to note what can be done in a short time 
when those who know what is better are given a free hand. Through 
the guidance and leadership of the normal school and the various 
agencies for setting standards and training leaders, not only are 
many of the Filipino children able to read, write, and speak the 
English language with some degree of fluency after three years of 
schooling, but they are now rapidly acquiring vocational skill in 
many lines of work which in time will be a large asset to their people. 
The boys are being trained in hat making, carpentry, blacksmithing, 
agriculture, gardening, and various other crafts. The girls are learn- 
ing cookery, lace making, embroidery, drawn work, dressmaking, 
plain sewing, the care of children, especially of infants, and house- 
hold economics and hygiene in general. Those who have instructed 
the Filipino girls report that in lace making and embroidery they 
show great talent. It is asserted by Director White that " because 
of their natural aptitude for this sort of work, their patience, and 
delicacy of execution, the Filipino women are considered among the 
most skillful workers in the world in these arts, their products being 
classed by experts as even superior to those of the French and the 
Swiss." Doubtless with the help of modern methods, patterns, and 
appliances, this work will afford much relief to those women who under 
other circumstances would have little opportunity for earning an 
income. 

Commendable progress has been made in the construction of 
schoolhouses. While, at the close of the decade, there is yet far from 
a sufficient number of passable buildings for school purposes, at the 
beginning the work was greatly hindered by lack of such facilities. 
The better buildings now being constructed, if one may judge from 
photographs and floor plans, seem to be particularly well adapted 
both in architectural features and construction to the climatic and 
educational conditions to be found in the islands. From the report 
of the director of education for 1910, it is learned that the total cost 
of " school building projects pending" amounted to approximately 
$450,000. 

The most hopeful school work now in progress is without doubt 
that in industrial and vocational lines. On this point a further quota- 



SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, 1900-1910. 29 

tion from the director's report for 1910 is worthy of consideration. 
He says, in regard to the development of industrial training: 

The opportunity presented for future development is enormous. Other countries 
with educational systems long established on orthodox lines encounter almost insur- 
mountable difficulties in the reorganizing of those systems upon a practical basis. 
In the Philippines the organization is still in its formative period. The administra- 
tion of the bureau is hampered by no embarrassing precedents; it has reasonably 
ample funds with which to execute its plans; and, best of all, it has in a most gratify- 
ing measure the moral support of both Americans and Filipinos in its attempt to build 
up here a system of instruction which will promote the industrial efficiency and 
material well-being of this population. Such another opportunity probably never 
existed anywhere. It is perhaps not going too far to venture the assertion at this 
time that, within two or three years from this date, no State or national government 
will have in practical operation a system of industrial instruction more consistent than 
that of the Philippines in its sequence through the various grades, or more closely 
adapted to the material conditions and requirements of the country. 

EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATIONS. 

It is certainly well within the truth to say that no decade in the 
world's history has such a wonderful story to tell with reference to 
educational foundations as that which has just passed. Within 10 
years approximately $100,000,000 has been given from private for- 
tunes for general educational endowments in the country at large. 
Best of all, each of these gifts has been given in a large-minded way, 
so that the various boards of control have much freedom and discre- 
tionary power in administering the funds and in organizing the work 
under their control. A brief account of each of these foundations 
follows: 

THE CARNEGIE INSTITUTION. 

In January, 1902, Mr. Andrew Carnegie gave to a board of trustees 
the sum of $10,000,000 in registered bonds bearing annual interest 
at the rate of 5 per cent. In 1907 he added $2,000,000, and, if the 
decade may be overstepped a few days, in January, 1911 . he increased 
the total endowment to $22,000,000. 

The purpose of the donor was to " found in the city of Washington 
an institution which, with the cooperation of institutions now or 
hereafter established, there or elsewhere, shall in the broadest and 
most liberal manner encourage investigation, research, and dis- 
covery — show the application of knowledge to the improvement of 
mankind, and provide such buildings, laboratories, books, and appa- 
ratus as may be needed." The institution was incorporated by act 
of Congress April 28, 1904, and it is now known as the Carnegie Insti- 
tution of Washington. The executive officers are Robert S. Wood- 
ward, president; Cleveland H. Dodge, secretary. The administra- 
tion offices are now in the new building known in Washington as the 
Carnegie Institution, located at Sixteenth and P Streets NW. 



30 EDUCATION KEPORT, 1911. 

The lines of work undertaken thus far may be grouped under the 
following general headings: 

1. Cooperative research in various lines requiring long periods of 
time and organized efforts. 

2. Individual research in various lines by trained investigators. 

3. Investigations carried on chiefly by those who give promise of 
scientific leadership. 

4. Publication of the results of research work, in all lines, and of 
other scientific and useful matter not generally accessible. 

THE GENERAL EDUCATION BOARD. 

The General Education Board was organized in New York, Feb- 
ruary 27, 1902, and incorporated by act of Congress, signed January 
12, 1903. The charter of this board, amongst other provisions, sets 
forth the following : 

This corporation shall have power to build, improve, enlarge, or equip buildings for 
elementary or primary schools, industrial schools, technical schools, normal schools, 
training schools for teachers, or schools of any grade, or for higher institutions of 
learning, or, in connection therewith, libraries, workshops, gardens, kitchens, or other 
educational accessories; to establish, maintain, or endow elementary or primary 
schools, industrial schools, technical schools, normal schools, training schools for 
teachers, or schools of any grade, or higher institutions of learning; to employ or aid 
others to employ teachers and lecturers; to aid, cooperate with or endow associations 
or other corporations engaged in educational work within the United States of 
America, or to donate to any such association or corporation any property or moneys 
which shall at any time be held by the said corporation hereby constituted; to collect 
educational statistics and information, and to publish and distribute documents and 
reports containing the same; and in general to do and perform all things necessary or 
convenient for the promotion of the object of the corporation. 

This board has now as endowment the sum of more than $30,000,000, 
a gift from Mr. John D. Rockefeller, and holds in trust the sum of 
$22,000,000, also given by Mr. Rockefeller. The income from the 
permanent endowment amounts to about $1,500,000 annually, and is 
disbursed by the board in accordance with the provisions of its charter. 
The principal and the income from the trust fund of $22,000,000 are 
subject to the direction of Mr. Rockefeller or his son, Mr. John D. 
Rockefeller, jr. 

The official staff of this corporation consists of "not less than 9 
nor more than 17" board members, whose term of office is three 
years. Vacancies in the board are filled by the board, and mem- 
bers are eligible for reelection. 

The board has devoted itself in the Northern States wholly to the 
promotion of higher education. In the South, in addition to assisting 
various colleges to larger endowments, it has been of very great service 
by supporting professors of secondary education in the State univer- 
sities, and through them helping to encourage and organize the public 



SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, 1900-1910. 31 

high schools of the Southern States. It has also used its funds and 
its influence in stimulating the South to a larger and more vital 
interest in the general problems of public education. 

THE CARNEGIE FOUNDATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF TEACHING. 

On April 16, 1905, Mr. Andrew Carnegie addressed a letter to 25 
men whom he had selected as trustees setting forth his wishes and 
plans. A part of this letter reads as follows: 

Gentlemen: I have reached the conclusion that the least rewarded of all profes- 
sions is that of the teacher in our higher educational institutions. New York City, 
generously and very wisely, provides retiring pensions for teachers in our public 
schools, and also for our policemen . Very few, indeed, of our colleges are able to do so. 
The consequences are grievous. Able men hesitate to adopt teaching as a career, 
and many old professors whose places should be occupied by younger men can not be 
retired. 

I have transferred to you and your successors as trustees $10,000,000, the revenue 
from which is to provide retiring pensions for the teachers of universities, colleges, 
and technical schools in our country, Canada, and Newfoundland, under such condi- 
tions as you may adopt from time to time. 

The fund applies to the three classes of institutions named, without regard to race, 
sex, creed, or color. * * * 

While the letter further on excluded State universities from par- 
ticipation in this fund, in 1908 they were granted this privilege, and 
the original sum was increased to $15,000,000. 

This foundation was incorporated March 10, 1906, under the name 
of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The 
present executive officers are Dr. Henry S. Pritchett, president; 
Clyde Furst, secretary. 

THE RUSSELL SAGE FOUNDATION. 

The Russell Sage Foundation was incorporated in New York in 
April, 1907, and has an endowment of $10,000,000, given by Mrs. 
Russell Sage. The charter provides that — 

It shall be within the purpose of said corporation to use any means which from time 
to time shall seem expedient to its members or trustees, including research, publica- 
tion, education, the establishment and maintenance of charitable and benevolent 
activities, agencies, and institutions, and the aid of any such activities, agencies, or 
institutions already established. 

In a letter, shortly after the incorporation of the foundation, Mrs. 
Sage stated that — 

The scope of the foundation is not only national, but it is broad . It should, however, 
preferably not undertake to do that which is now being done or is likely to be effect- 
ively done by other individuals or other agencies. It should be its aim to take up 
the larger, more difficult problems; and to take them up so far as possible in such a 
manner as to secure cooperation and aid in their solution. 

There are nine trustees of this foundation, with headquarters in 
New York City. The officials of the board are Mrs. Russell Sage, 



32 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

president; Eobert W. DeForest, vice president; Cleveland H. Dodge, 
treasurer; and John M. Glenn, secretary and general director. 

THE JEANES FUND. 

On April 23, 1907, Miss Anna T. Jeanes, of Philadelphia, gave 
$1,000,000 to aid in securing better rural schools for the negroes. A 
board of trustees was appointed to carry out the provisions of this 
foundation, and organized February, 1908. The executive officers 
of this board are: Dr. James H. Dillard, president, New Orleans, La.; 
George Foster Peabody, treasurer, New York City; Maj. Kobert K. 
Moton, secretary, Hampton Institute, Va. 

The expressed purpose of this board is the uplift of the negroes by 
the development of better rural schools. Thus far the work has been 
unusually successful. The board have set themselves to the task of 
organizing these people for self-help in all that pertains to country 
school and farm life. 

Three plans have been outlined for this work, and these are now 
being carried out in what appears to be a most helpful and practical 
manner : 

1. A teacher has been assigned to a county for the purpose of 
visiting and supervising all the schools in that county. In addition 
she has been directed to introduce simple forms of manual training, 
and to interest the people in better schoolhouses and school grounds. 
This is generally known as the Henrico plan, because it was first 
developed in Henrico County, Va. 

2. The employment of a teacher to do extension work among a 
number of schools within easy reach of some central school as head- 
quarters. This plan gives closer supervision and more immediate 
help to the regular teachers. 

3. The third plan has been to put a man into a county and set him 
to the work of creating a more intelligent public sentiment for the 
betterment of rural schools and country life in general. He is 
expected also to supervise the teachers and organize them for self- 
improvement. 

OTHER EDUCATIONAL BENEFACTIONS. 

In addition to the gifts which have made these great foundations 
possible, a great many cheerful givers have poured out their wealth 
to the colleges, universities, and technical schools already established. 

It is impossible to state with accuracy the total amount of general 
benefactions to these schools in the 10 years, for doubtless many gifts 
have been made which have not been reported and some have been 
reported which for one reason or another miscarried. But, accord- 
ing to the returns furnished this office, there has been a total of 
$179,871,644 given for higher education. This does not generally 



SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, 1900-1910. 33 

include gifts for law schools, medical schools, theological schools, 
dental schools, and schools for nurses. The amount of gifts for these 
latter institutions has been large. It will therefore be very near to 
the truth to say that approximately $200,000,000 have been given to 
higher and professional educational institutions during the decade. 
This enormous sum, coupled with the amounts given for the founda- 
tions above noted, marks the decade as the foremost in the history of 
the nation, perhaps in all history, with reference to educational bene- 
factions. 

THE CECIL RHODES SCHOLARSHIPS. 

One of the most unique and at the same time one of the most 
inspiring attempts to cultivate a bond of union between widely 
separated peoples of different nationalities is that conceived by the 
late Cecil Rhodes, and which is being carried out by the provisions 
of his will. It was a great and original conception, in that it proposed 
a racial patriotism broader than national boundaries, and interna- 
tional fellowships based on culture and the social contact of a selected 
body of young men. Mr. Rhodes died in 1902 and left the sum of 
£2,000,000 to a board of trustees, directing them to use the income 
from this princely sum for scholarships at Oxford University. These 
scholars are appointed — under conditions named or authorized — 
from the colonial dependencies of England, from the United States 
(2 from each State or Territory), and 15 from Germany, or of German 
birth, to be nominated by the Emperor. All of the scholarships, 
except those from Germany, have an annual value of £300. Those 
for the German students amount to £250 annually. Each scholar- 
ship is for a term of three years. 

The first American Rhodes scholars were appointed in 1904, and 
up to 1910, 178 young men from the United States have enjoyed 
through this benefaction the privileges of this great university. 
Dr. Parkin, the organizing representative of the Rhodes Scholarship 
Trust, in an article on " American Rhodes scholars at Oxford," in the 
North American Review for June, 1909, says: 

Starting with a profound belief in the high destiny and beneficent influence of the 
British Empire, and eagerly desirous to promote the permanent unity of its various 
parts, while increasing their strength and usefulness, his first intention as a means to 
this end was to bring the youthful vigor of the colonies into touch with the experience 
and culture of the Mother Land, in the belief that both would thereby be benefited. 
As time went on, his advancing thought led him to conceive that still higher ends could 
be served by the cooperation of the United States with his own country in carrying 
forward the work of civilization, and still further that the increasing influence of 
Germany made its support and sympathy for the same purpose of the utmost importance. 
He believed that great good would result to the world from a mutual understanding 
between these various peoples, and using the means which he had in his hand he took the 
step that seemed to him most likely to promote such an understanding. His plan was 
very simple. He would secure as the agents of his purpose picked young men of these 
13144°— ed 1911— vol 1 3 



3-4 EDUCATION REPORT, 1911. 

nations. For these he believed that the strongest bond of sympathy would be created 
by a common education. He therefore arranged that, for all time to come, nearly 200 
scholars of these countries should be educated together at the most ancient and famous 
seat of English learning and training. 

WORLD MOVEMENTS IN EDUCATION. 

It may not be out of place in this general and incomplete survey of 
progress to call attention to certain world movements in education. 
These have developed in part as a result of international conferences, 
visiting commissions, interchange of students, and, above all, of the 
world-wide distribution of printed matter bearing on all phases of 
educational administration and policy. Each progressive nation is 
eagerly learning from the others, and the gain made by one is taken 
up and adapted by the others. Naturally the relative emphasis 
which each of these movements will receive in any country will 
depend on local traditions and customs. 

(1) Public education for all, at public expense, is a goal toward 
which the whole civilized world is more or less unconsciously advanc- 
ing. Some occupy an advanced position in this regard, while others 
are struggling far in the rear. But everywhere there seems to be a 
growth in this direction. The argument for public education gains 
strength in proportion to the growth of public respect for human life 
and the human spirit. Poverty and parental neglect ought not to 
offer absolute impedimenta to the progress of the children of any 
nation. But there is much yet to do to break down that selfishness 
which has condemned the less fortunate children of many nations to 
an unfair chance. Compulsory education for the sake of both the 
child and the State is relatively speaking a new phase of this move- 
ment. But it is a most significant phase. 

(2) Closely associated with the growing consciousness that children 
have a right to an education is the related idea that they deserve 
good care from parents, teachers, and the public in general. The 
world over, the child-welfare movement is gaining ground. Naturally 
it exhibits itself in various ways and with varying emphasis in different 
countries. The more enlightened and humane nations are demanding 
more and more sweeping restrictions on the rights of parents or others 
who force young children to a life of labor, and take from them that 
opportunity and longing for play which their natures crave and their 
education demands. Charles Dickens made an effective appeal in 
the early part of the last century, in an emotional way, and now a 
more careful study of child nature is enforcing in a rational manner 
the essential needs of children. There is still much to learn and more 
to do before the children will be treated according to their deserts, 
and in line with the life they should lead. But the situation is hope- 
ful, and the world-wide interest in playgrounds, child study, juvenile 
courts, medical supervision, and child hygiene will eventually issue 
in better treatment of children in the home and at school. 



SURVEY OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS, 1900-1910. 35 

(3) The spirit of science is now at work in the world in a more 
effective fashion than at any other time in human history. Tra- 
ditional ways of thinking and doing are no longer piously reserved 
from the scrutinizing inquiry of the truth seeker, and while the 
" unanimity of the wise" is still in the distant future, honest inquiry 
is its necessary forerunner. Earnest investigators, everywhere, 
are known to each other, and in their search there exist no national 
boundaries and no insuperable barriers to common understandings 
and mutual assistance. The education of the last century kindled 
this spirit, and the coming century will reap its rewards. 

(4) Vocational training, much discussed at present, is essentially 
the product of a few decades. But the purposes and intent of the 
movement have entered into the educational consciousness of the 
world with a rapidity unlike that of any subject of recent years. 
True, the work is still inchoate and more or less indefinite, but it 
appears as a promise and foretokens the accomplishment of a long- 
felt need. Word comes from China, Japan, Egypt, Australia, the 
Philippine Archipelago, Iceland, all of Europe, and the western world 
that it is time to teach the children to make some specific preparation 
for the world's work, in addition to teaching them the essentials of 
the older curricula. Whether this movement will fulfill its promises 
will depend on wise understanding and sane, steady administration. 
Meanwhile the call for help comes from all directions, and the willing- 
ness to learn from all is the spirit of all. 

The movement for promoting agricultural education is peculiarly 
pronounced and widespread at this time. In Japan, India — espe- 
cially in British India and those native States tributary to the 
British Government — Egypt, South Africa, England, Ireland, Canada, 
Netherlands-India, and some of the South American Republics, and 
in our country a new emphasis is being given to instruction in agri- 
cultural subjects. How far this work will operate to modify the 
older curricula, or to influence general economic and social conditions, 
can not be foretold. But surely good will come, and the purposes of 
education will be broadened, and, let us hope, deepened. 

(5) The movement for the education of women has not only made 
great progress in European countries but is recognized in Japan and 
in awakening China as indispensable to national progress. This 
movement shows some remarkable features in India. In the Indian 
National Congress, which gives free opportunity for the expression 
of native opinion, leaders from different communities and States of 
India have been specially pronounced in their conviction of the 
importance of making large provision for the education of women 
and the breaking down of their traditional seclusion. It is a most 
hopeful sign to find everywhere that the rights of women in matters 
educational and social are being recognized, for surely this means 
^accelerated progress for the coming years. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



022 166 213 




Hollinger Corp* 
pH8.5 



^ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



022 166 213 1 



Hollinger Corp. 



